How to quickly heal a child's throat

Young children often have sore throats. It is good if the child already speaks and can complain to the parents about pain, but the situation is much more complicated with newborns. The main manifestations of diseases of the nasopharynx are hyperemia of the mucous membrane and soreness. You can detect redness of the mucous membrane on your own. But it is better if a specialist does it. After all, a sore throat in a child can occur for many reasons. And only a pediatrician or pediatric otolaryngologist can identify the cause of the disease in order to determine how to treat a sore throat in a child.

Causes of a red throat in a child

1. A sore throat in a child in 99% of cases is observed in acute respiratory viral diseases.
2. Angina (tonsillitis) - inflammation of the tonsils. In a chronic course, the throat may hurt constantly, the throat is reddened, the plaque on the tonsils is white, gray or yellow-gray.
3. Pharyngitis - inflammation of the back of the throat, laryngitis - inflammation of the larynx.
4. Severely sore throat in children with diphtheria. During illness, the glands enlarge, there is such a small gap between them that the patient cannot breathe.
5. False croup (stenosing laryngitis, laryngeal stenosis) is characterized by a sharp narrowing of the larynx and suffocation.
6. A child has a sore throat with scarlet fever.
7. The throat can become inflamed as a result of injury, when the baby pulls toys into his mouth, he scratches the delicate and sensitive mucous membrane. The throat can turn red due to a burn of the mucous membrane.

Diagnostics

A pediatric otolaryngologist examines the patient with a frontal reflector (special mirror), which illuminates the oropharynx, a medical spatula and a nasal speculum. A smear is taken from the pharynx for sowing, in which the type of pathogen is identified. All diagnostic procedures are absolutely painless and take a minimum of time. If necessary, the patient's blood and urine, chest organs are examined using X-ray.

Treatment with traditional methods

Effective throat treatment consists of complex measures. First of all, it is necessary to provide an optimal microclimate for recovery in the children's room. It is necessary to do wet cleaning and place containers with water to maintain air humidity at least 50% and air temperature no more than 20 degrees, in order to avoid overdrying of the nasopharyngeal mucosa. You can not wrap the patient with too warm blankets, especially during a fever, it is necessary that there is a normal heat exchange. Ventilate the room 2-3 times a day, microbes die during the circulation of fresh air.

Drinking plenty of fluids can help relieve a sore throat. The main thing is that the drink is warm and pleasant. You can give teas with honey and lemon juice, juices diluted with water, fruit drinks, fruit and milk jelly, unsweetened compotes. The child should drink constantly throughout the day. Honey and citrus juices can be given if you are not allergic to these foods.

During a period of illness, children should not be given new foods that they have not tried before - they can cause allergies

Diet should be followed. Sour, salty, fatty, sweet foods, cold and hot foods are excluded. Marinades irritate the mucous membrane of the oropharynx and provoke dry cough and perspiration. For the same reason, citrus fruits cannot be given to children; it is allowed to give only in the form of diluted juices. Hot food increases flushing and can cause mucosal burns. Cold food contributes to hypothermia of the upper respiratory tract. These factors aggravate the course of the disease and delay recovery.

Food should be warm, soft, easy to digest, small portions. Give vegetables and fruits without peel. It is best to whisk them in a blender and serve as mashed potatoes. Vitamins should be present in the diet of a small patient every day. Solid foods should not be eaten so as not to injure the throat.

Cutlery, towels, and a patient's toothbrush during illness should be kept separate from the hygiene items of the whole family.

With a bacterial infection, children are prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics with a preliminary sensitivity test. Since the main causative agent of inflammation of the oropharynx is streptococcus, drugs of the penicillin series (amoxicillin, amoxiclav) are prescribed. These medicines are available in suspension, because all mothers know how difficult it is to get a baby to swallow a pill. When there is an allergy to drugs in this group, macrolides are used (erythromycin, sumamed, chemomycin). Macrolides are less toxic and easier for children to tolerate.

With a viral infection, the use of interferons at the onset of the disease gives high efficiency; under their influence, the disease may even recede. Throat treatment in children with ARVI does not require antibiotic therapy.

It is also important to know how to relieve pain. This is done through topical treatments. Children who already know how to spit should gargle regularly. For this purpose, a warm 0.9% saline solution is used. A small child under one year old can do irrigation. Take the baby in your arms, tilt your head a little down and to the side, spray a solution from a small syringe down the throat. Antiseptic lozenges under the tongue, which should be given half an hour after meals, will help relieve a sore throat.

When the temperature returns to normal, we treat children with warming compresses and mustard plasters. Newborns have too sensitive skin, so they can put mustard plasters through the fabric, or mustard plasters with cells put on the back side and reduce the procedure time to 5 minutes.

In acute and chronic tonsillitis, the tonsils are lubricated with oil solutions: a solution of Lugol or chlorophyllipt. This unpleasant procedure can induce a gag reflex, but it is effective at reducing inflammation.

It is not recommended to remove plaque on your own in case of oropharyngeal infections - this can provoke bleeding from the tonsils

Treatment with non-traditional methods

How to quickly cure a child's throat using folk remedies? Here are the simplest and most effective methods.

• make a vodka compress, half vodka with camphor oil. Apply a compress to children over two years old;
• how to relieve pain in the oropharynx: rinse with saline solution 2-3 grams of table or sea salt in 200 ml of warm water, 5 ml of lemon or beet juice in 200 ml of water;
• Potato or ether inhalations will help cure a red throat in a child. Sit with your baby over a pot of hot potatoes or water with added essential oils. Cover yourself with a blanket and sit for 7-10 minutes;
• you can cure the patient with decoctions of anti-inflammatory herbs;
• for colds, rubbing with honey, camphor oil, goat fat, butter will help. The procedure should be done at night. Lubricate the neck, back, chest, sole with a heated product, put on a T-shirt and socks made of natural fabric, cover the baby with a blanket. The child will feel much better in the morning. This procedure can be done only at normal temperature in the patient;
• It is good to remove the temperature by rubbing with a vinegar solution: for 200 ml of water at room temperature, 20 ml of ordinary or apple cider vinegar. It is necessary to lower the temperature above 38 degrees. Febrile temperature is especially dangerous for children from 0 to 4 years due to immature immunity. If you have an intolerance to vinegar, you can put a cloth soaked in cool water on your elbows and knees. Change it as it warms up.

With timely correct therapy, relief occurs on day 3-5, and recovery - on day 7.

If the disease drags on for a week or two and the acute symptoms do not subside, there is a high probability of a secondary infection. In this case, you need to show the child to the specialist again. The attending physician will carry out differential diagnostics and correct treatment.